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Questions linger over how LSU handled Title IX discipline

3 years 3 weeks 5 days ago Tuesday, March 23 2021 Mar 23, 2021 March 23, 2021 7:27 PM March 23, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - With yet another former LSU employee feeling the repercussions of the Husch Blackwell report outside of campus, many are confused as to why administrators here haven't received harsher punishments.

LSU Board Chair Robert Dampf is happy with their response: suspending high-ranking athletics employees Verge Ausberry and Miriam Segar.

"I think to impose too strict of a penalty in a sense kind of gets into almost scapegoating, and I think scapegoating is a terrible thing. Scapegoating makes you feel better but doesn't solve problems and it's not just or fair to the people involved,” he said.

However, Dampf says the investigation is still ongoing. Other wrongdoing could come to light, which could lead to more discipline.

"We're still looking at things. I'm satisfied with the punishments handed down to Mr. Ausberry and Ms. Segar under these circumstances. But, as for other people, not that I know of right now," Dampf said. "But that's not to say we would foreclose that if there was something else that we learned."

Higher-ups may believe they’ve done the right thing, but on the ground it’s a different story. Protestors filled campus earlier this month, urging LSU to fire Ausberry and Segar.

"I'm hearing from students that they do feel unsafe and they do want to see more action from LSU administrators,” said Susan Bareis, with the Lighthouse program at LSU.

Bareis works directly with survivors of sexual trauma. She says if one good thing came from surfacing the cover-ups, it’s that more students now know about resources on campus.

"I’m happy to say that I think more students are aware of it and are referring their friends, and we certainly have seen an influx of students reaching out to their program," she said.

Bareis says in order to move forward, the higher-ups need to take training and education seriously.

"I know that there's a lot of mistrust in LSU administration, but we want to help them have their voices heard and really grow from this. There's no doubt that we have a lot of work to do at LSU."

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